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Regular flooding in the Mekong basin is essential for the rural and fisheries communities that supply a large part of the region with food. Development in the shape of dam construction severely endangers this age old lifestyle.

The fishermen of Si Phan Don in the south of Laos risk their lives on a daily basis to catch just enough fish for their own consumption. Fragile fish traps ingeniously mounted in the rushing waters of the Khone Falls catch Mekong Catfish swimming upstream to their spawning grounds. Ten planned dams in the Mekong River may destroy the livelihood of these men.

Ismail – It`s very close, but still a long long way from Romania (EU!) to Ukraine (NOT EU!!!). Three days ago Johannes and I took an adventurous trip from Galati on the Romanian Danube to Ismail, a dreary port town on the Ukrainian part of the Danube, where the economy seems to have come to a standstill. In order to get to Ukraine, one has to walk (!!!) through another country: Moldova, for one and a half kilometres. Then you get to Reni, a dusty Ukrainian town, from where it is still 70 kilometres to Ismail, hometown of the driver of this beautiful Lada. So, here comes the question of the day: who is older, the driver or the Lada?

Last friday I flew above the Rhine in Germany in an ultra light airplane.
Because I had to photograph through a tiny hole in the window, it was not that easy. But it was a lot cheaper than renting a helicopter.
From the air you can see the old Rhine meandering around the canalized Rhine.
This canalized Rhine is good for transportation, but can cause heavier floodings downstream.

Lake Victoria, fish till you dropMarch 18, 2014Lake Victoria is abundant with fish. But the invasive Nile Perch, which is good for trade is a danger to the native species in the lake. For most fishermen, life is still very hard and their productions is just enough … Continue reading →

South Sudan, a new future based on age old traditionsMarch 18, 2014South Sudan is the youngest country in the world. After a 30 year old civil war the country finally managed to secede from Sudan. Through internal strife and difficulties the country works hard to develop into a full fletched state.

Nai010 publishers, Rotterdam will be publishing a book based on this project in early 2015. To find out how your organization or company can become a sponsor of the publication send an email to info@nai010.com.

Click on a thumbnail to go to one of the large maps where you can navigate the path of the river to find stories, photos and videos. Zoom with Ctrl + or -, or Cmd +/- for Mac.

The project is an initiative of a group of independent reporters and photographers with a preference for slow journalism. We’re using crowdfunding for our assignments to produce these in-depth mutli-media reports. We’d be very grateful for your support, if you would like to help fund our work, visit our donate page where you will find suggestions on how to help Disputed Waters.

Disputed Waters is a large multimedia project initiated by a group of Dutch photographers. It is a blend of quality investigative journalism, documentary photography and videography. Together with journalists and videographers they will report on several transboundary rivers where water may become a source of conflict due to climate change.